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Home Archives for Ben

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

120 Days of Barack Obama Pandering Until Election Day 2008

Today marks 120 days until the November 4 general election - 120 days of obnoxious pandering by Presidential candidates, 120 days of campaign television and radio ads, 120 days for lovers of the Republic to hold their collective breath. Sigh. Speaking of candidate pandering, Barack Obama's recent whiplash-inducing rush away from his Leftist voting record and positions should give cause for concern. As one noted for his aptitude at quoting Scripture out of context, though, Barack Obama does have a ready-made passage he can abuse to justify his major switcheroos:I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. Of course, it goes without saying that I Corinthians 9:22 doesn't say anything of the sort … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Christianity and Faith, General, National Politics Tagged With: Barack Obama, Bible passages, election, pandering, presidential candidates, Scripture, summertime, switcheroo, whiplash

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

Bob Ewegen’s Crocodile Tears for GOP Ironically Show Need for Right-to-Work

Liberal Denver Post editorialist Bob Ewegen wants readers to believe he is really concerned about the plight of the Republican Party, so he sends us this warning:...[U]nions are enjoying something of a revival in Colorado, especially in the public sector, and they are a vital source of political volunteers and campaign funds. That's why spitting in labor's face in the name of "right to work" may well awaken the sleeping giant of the Colorado union movement in 2008 just as it did a half-century ago — with similar woeful results to the GOP. Bob Ewegen is cloaking his antipathy for workplace freedom in the garb of concern for the Grand Old Party's political welfare. While it's unclear how well Amendment 47 will fare at the ballot box … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, Labor Tagged With: Amendment 47, Big Labor, Bob Ewegen, campaign finance laws, Colorado, Denver Post, Grand Old Party, Republican Party, right-to-work, small donor committee, workers' rights

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

Vince Chowdhury Should Resign Both the School Board and House Race

There is an interesting contrast in two blog commentaries on the recent story of Vince Chowdhury, the Jefferson County Board of Education member and Democrat state house candidate who allegedly choked his daughter in a recent incident reported by The Columbine Courier. He denied the choking, but admitted to losing his temper and slapping her. In any case, Chowdhury was arrested for domestic violence. Denise at Colorado Charter Schools makes the adamant point that Vince Chowdhury should resign from the school board:Elected officials responsible for making decisions on behalf of children must adhere to high moral standards. They act on behalf of tens of thousands of children every day. Our children are too precious to have someone with … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Education, General Tagged With: child abuse, Colorado Charter Schools, ColoradoPols, Columbine Courier, Dead Governors, Democrat, Jason Bane, Jefferson County Board of Education, resignation, state house candidate, Vince Chowdhury

2/7/2026 By Ben 3 Comments

Wrangling Colorado Center-Right Blogs

Hooray, a positive - and promising - development in Colorado's center-right blogosphere has emerged. The conservative-leaning news site Face The State announces its "Blog Wrangler". The Wrangler features some of the latest posts on this page. It doesn't update as quickly as the Rocky Mountain Alliance feed (see sidebar of any member's page), but then again it's more attractively laid out and covers a broader collection of blogs. Face The State also has what looks like a comprehensive list of Colorado center-right bloggers - I'll have to compare it to my own blogroll some time. Several of us bloggers out here are glad to see Face The State take on this complementary role, even if we wished it had come sooner. (But "don't look … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, Colorado Politics, General Tagged With: Blog Wrangler, blogroll, blogs, center-right, Face the State, Rocky Mountain Alliance

2/7/2026 By Ben 2 Comments

Bill Ritter’s Fox News Stumble May Point to Bigger Problems Lurking

Rocky Mountain Right has posted a video from last night's Bill O'Reilly Show that demonstrates Colorado Governor Bill Ritter isn't ready for primetime:Bill Ritter recently was approached by a Fox News reporter asking a simple question about sex offender laws. Ritter proceeded to stammer, become visibly frustrated, and try to escape as soon as possible. Other Governors approached with the same question (Butch Otter of Idaho and Dave Freudenthal of Wyoming) performed far better and calmly responded. The observation is correct: Bill Ritter sure doesn't look ready for primetime in this video. But maybe there's another explanation, or some sort of mitigating circumstances that haven't been explored. The stresses and frustrations could … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, Labor, National Politics Tagged With: Bill O'Reilly, Bill Ritter, Brian Schweitzer, Butch Otter, campaign finance scandal, Colorado Supreme Court, Dave Freudenthal, Democrats, Denver Post, Fox News, legal defense fund victims, not ready for primetime, one-term governor, Property Tax Increase, Rocky Mountain Right

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Mark Udall’s Dishonesty about 9/11 and Other Recent SvU Blog Highlights

Today at the Schaffer v Udall blog, I gladly take the opportunity to quickly correct a small mistake while getting another chance to emphasize a major point:As the National Republican Senatorial Committee documented well, it took Mark Udall two-and-a-half years after 9/11 to drop his co-sponsorship of the Department of Peace: March 17, 2004. Coincidentally, though, it came one week after he first announced he was running for U.S. Senate. Does anyone still want to argue credibly that he changed his position on the issue because of 9/11? Or is it much clearer now that the move is part of Boulder liberal Mark Udall's careful calculation to remake his image as he runs for statewide office? You can read the whole thing here. Other recent … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, Colorado Politics, General Tagged With: 9/11, Bob Schaffer, Department of Peace, Mark Udall, National Republican Senatorial Committee, Schaffer v Udall

2/7/2026 By Ben 1 Comment

Fort Collins Rejects Government Union Advance, Local Dems Given a Pass

Good news from the north. Fort Collins voters have overwhelmingly rejected the costly and ill-advised proposal to mandate collective bargaining and binding arbitration on city employees. Unions are on the move - they have the ear of our Governor "Backroom" Bill Ritter - but the people have spoken out clearly against the expansion of public employee unionism. Meanwhile, a disturbing sidelight: a Fort Collins blogger points out that the local rag couldn't bother to report on a local Republican candidate's outspoken opposition to the measure:Do you mean to tell me that the Coloradoan doesn't believe it's important for the citizens of Fort Collins to know where their candidates stand on public-employee unions? (This is, after all, a major … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, General, Labor Tagged With: Bill Ritter, binding arbitration, Bob Bacon, Collective Bargaining, Colorado, Colorado Supreme Court, Fort Collins, Fort Collins Coloradoan, John Kefalas, Matt Fries, Northern Colorado Politics, public employee unionism, Randy Fischer

2/7/2026 By Ben 3 Comments

Dems Obstruct Solution to High Gas Prices, GOP Needs McCain to do Better

"Four bucks a gallon": it's the catchphrase that hits home all across America. Even putting the best face on it that they can, even federal government officials admit that gasoline prices figure to remain high for the foreseeable future. Yet on the same day, Democrats on a Congressional committee kill a proposal that would allow the United States to expand its domestic energy supply. I would say they're stuck on stupid, but it's far more likely that Nancy Pelosi, Mark Udall, and the Democrats are glad to see gasoline prices high, as they kowtow to radical environmentalist special interest groups. To top it off, the Democrats' Presidential candidate Barack Obama makes a ridiculous statement suggesting that rising gasoline prices is a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Energy, Fiscal Policy, General, National Politics Tagged With: Barack Obama, Congressional Democrats, Congressional Republicans, domestic energy production, federal government, gasoline prices, John Hinderaker, John McCain, Mark Udall, Nancy Pelosi, offshore drilling, Powerline, radical environmentalist lobby

2/7/2026 By Ben 2 Comments

Does Evie Hudak Still Hold Prejudiced and False View of Homeschooling?

One of Colorado's top state legislative races this year - a very high target on the state Republican party's list of potential takeovers - is Senate District 19 in north Jefferson County. The race pits Republican businesswoman Libby Szabo against liberal union activist and state school board member Evie Hudak. Evie Hudak's perceived strength in this race is the education issue, but if a 1999 commentary she wrote for the Denver Post gives any evidence, she holds a narrow, prejudiced, and uninformed view of one major type of education chosen by parents: homeschooling. Here are some excerpts: … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Education, General Tagged With: better employees, civic affairs, class sizes, Colorado Constitution, community activities, Denver Post, Education, Evie Hudak, homeschooling, Libby Szabo, narrow, prejudiced, Senate District 19, voting

2/7/2026 By Ben Leave a Comment

Brighton Blogger Tells Commissioners to Return Money from No-Bid Contractor

Last week I highlighted the story of two Adams County commissioners on the take from the owner of a company with $12 million in no-bid county government contracts. I've since discovered another local blogger, who has offered some strong, unsolicited advice to commissioners Skip Fischer and Alice Nichol:Accepting a contribution from the beneficiary of the no-bid contract creates, at the least, an appearance of graft. If you aren't going to do your job properly, at the minimum you, should act shocked that it happened, promise to get to the bottom of it and take the appropriate punitive and corrective actions. And make it completely obvious that you do not benefit in any way from the misdeed. Colluding with another Commissioner on … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, General Tagged With: Adams County commissioners, Alice Nichol, Brighton Sage, government contracting reform, no-bid contracts, pay-to-play, Skip Fischer

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Inside

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    The Rise & Fall of Al Gansee
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About Me

Ben DeGrow
Grateful and growing Christian, devoted husband and father of 3, public policy analyst, returned to Michigan by way of Colorado, conservative writer, lifelong learner, Detroit Tigers fan.

Recent Posts

  • AI-Enhanced Cyberbullying: The Dark Side of Teen Innovation
  • My Baker’s Dozen of Top 2023 Reads
  • Common Learning Disabilities in Children
  • Tips to Teach Kids to Set and Achieve Goals
  • The Christmas Music Countdown You’ve Been Looking For: 2022 Edition

Colorado News

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National News and Politics

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  • Reason
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Blogs Extraordinaire

  • American Thinker
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  • E!! The True Conservative Story
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  • Hugh Hewitt
  • Instapundit
  • LaShawn Barber
  • Lileks
  • Little Green Footballs
  • Michelle Malkin
  • NRO's The Corner
  • Power Line
  • Red State

Completing the Blogroll

  • Alarming News
  • Black Five
  • Blogs of War
  • Eduwonk
  • Flypaper
  • Fraters Libertas
  • Historical Conversations
  • IMAO
  • Jay P. Greene
  • Mike Anderson
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  • Virginia Postrel
  • Volokh Conspiracy

Christian Commentary et al.

  • Kevin Pierpont
  • Sharper Iron

Conservative and GOP Sites

  • Backbone America
  • Cal Thomas
  • Colorado Republican Party
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Colorado Blogs

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Other Sites

  • Technorati
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Rocky Mountain Alliance 2.0

  • Reclaim the Blue
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To Contact Me:
bendegrow-at-gmail.com

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